Plugging a Tuber Tyre ??

[Bart1]

A few months ago I picked up an early low mileage Tiger 800XC as a N+1 / winter hack, the bike is my first tubed tired bike for a quite a while so I started looking into tubeless conversions. It seems well documented that converting a rim with a safety bead is fine but there is debate as to if a rim (often the front) without the safety bead is good practice ie would a inner tube help a deflating tyre keep the tyre bead where it should be or not.
There is also the insurance angle, albeit distant, that if your provider discovered a tubeless conversion would they void the policy ?? Tyres can get un mounted in a crash.

So....
If the tyre bead stays where it should be any leaking air can only escape through the puncture hole, spokes holes and valve stem hole. Sealing those should give a rideable tyre...at least to get home.
After a few rides the front got a puncture form blackthorn so while the tyre was off I made a few changes and fitted some 3m Extreme tape to the spoke holes, an extra layer around the valve stem hole and refitted the original rim tape for a bit of protection to the tape.
A few rides later the Pirelli Scorpion Trail got another blackthorn puncture but this time I just plugged the tyre with a sticky string. At first it was loosing about 1 lb a day, a water bath revealed the valve stem to be the culprit so added another 1/4 turn on the stem nut to cure that.

That was several weeks and several hundred miles ago and so far it is only loosing about 1 lb a week. The tyres will be finished in less than 1000 miles and be changed but the "repair" seems to work, the riding has so far only been on road/ gravelly roads so not proper off road.

A bit of Googling on this revealed discussion but no actual reports of doing it, has anyone tried this?

[Bart1]

A bit of Googling on this revealed discussion but no actual reports of doing it, has anyone tried this?

That would appear to be a no then.....

I'm still running the tyre as above and it is still only loosing about a 1lb a week.

[Tramp]

You shouldn't of fitted rim tape as well...my bartit tubless conversion loses zero psi over each tyre change and been like that for 20k now...diy option does work but rim needs to be ultra clean and a special valve fitted then the lot sealed at correct temp...a puncture fix is then like any tubed tyre either foam squirty stuff or a worm...

[Chris S]

has anyone tried this?

Glad the simple bodge worked for you.
I've heard of people literarily just wrapping a couple of loops of duct tape and dealing with the weekly air loss.

You shouldn't of fitted rim tape as well

A mate with a similar DIY conversion on his AT fitted the original rim tape over the 3M 'for good measure' but found that, unconstrained by an inner tube, it flew off centrifugally, disintegrated, and the bits jammed the valve hole (or something like that). Now he leaves the rim tape off. Worth knowing.

For my sort of rides abroad, I don't mind spending the extra time using sealant and a TL valve rather than just tape.
And after trying it years ago on my XT660Z, these days I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable doing TL – quick bodge or pro seal – on a non-MT (no lip) rim, especially on the front.
Non MT locks you into high pressure use which can make the ride less comfortable on rocky trails.
And if doing these experiments, I think it's worth running a TPMS, at least until you verify things settling down.

https://adventure-motorcycling.com/conv ... -tubeless/

[Bart1]

Just re reading my post.

I didn't make it clear that i also fitted the tube as well as sealing the rim so the danger of the front tyre collapsing with a puncture is no more than a unsealed setup.